Anyue Grottos

Anyue belonged to Prefecture Pu in ancient times, it was built in Tiefeng Mountain, the name Anyue meant “ live in peace and contentment in the mountain”. Anyue Grotttos covers an area of 2,690 square kilometres, among which 235 square kilometres are centre aea. Anyue has a deep connection with Buddhism, most of the rock carvings are Budda grottos with long history, and they are considered as the gems of Chinese civilization. Anyue Grottos inheried the features of Dunhuang Grottes, inspired the construction of “ Dazu Rock Carvings”. It was originated in Eastern Han Dynasty, and srarted to be built in the 521st year of Southern Dynasties, reached its prime during Tang Dynasty, Five Dynasties period and Northern Song Dynasty. The theme of the carvings covered Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and so on, and were known for their long history, large number, refined and beautiful work , winning the name“ Another Great Treasure of Ancient Chinese Carving.” At Anyue Grottos,there are more than 143 rock carvings of different peroid, over 400,000 Buddhist Scripture of Tang Dynasty were carved in the grottos. Among them, Sleeping-buddha Temple and Pilu Cave are National cultural protection units; Qianfo Stockade, Buddhist Cave, Huayan Cave, Mumen Temple, Xuanmiao Pass, Mingshan Temple and Chaoyang Cave are Provincial cultural relics(amomg them, 6 places have been reported to national level), and 51 spots are county preserves. The famous poet of Tang Dynasty Jiadao, and one of the ancesters of Taoism in Song Dynasty Chentuan, celebrated mathematician Qin Jiushao and other well-known people all left precious work of art, poems at Anyue Grottos. Wenmiao Temple, Kuixing Altar, Jinshi Pavillion of Ming Dynasty, Shudai Bridge, Tomb of Jiadao, Tomb of Chentuan, Qin Jiushao Museum and other historical remains are all in good condition. There are large amount of fossils of ancient animals, among them , the fossil of Ma Menxi dinosaur, which lived during the Late Mesozoic Jurasssic age ,has a history of 150,000,000 years, it is 21.5 metres long, 8 metres tall, ranking No.2 in Asia. Anyue also gained the reputation of “ Land of Lemon in China”, the field of lemon covers an area of 300,000 mu (a traditional unit of area in China), the field of Tongxian Shaddock covers an area of 60 kilometres, forming a uniqe feature of touring in Anyue, the lemon festival and shaddock festival have attracted a large number of tourists. The key scenic spots are Sleeping-Buddha Temple, Pilu Cave. In Sleeping-Buddha Temple, there are 139 shrine caves, 1613 buddha statues and carved scripts with more than 400,000 characters. The Sleeping-Buhhda is 23 metres long, it is considered the longest carving of Tang Dynasty, and was declared to be major historical and cultural sites under state protection. In Pilu Cave, there are 446 statues, 32 spots with carved inscriptions, among them, the statue of Guanyin (the Goddess of Mercy in China), and Carvings of Liu Benzun are considered as rare treasures in China.

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How to Get There?one can take intercity bus from Chengdu to Anyue. There are buses to Shiyang Town at Anyue Bus Station, one can also take a taxi from Anyue County.